April 24, 2012

Monday, April 30th: National Center for Civil & Human Rights Presentation & Reception Monday, April 30, 2012 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM State Bar of Georgia 104 Marietta Street Atlanta, GA 30303   The event is co-sponsored by the Atlanta Bar Association, the Gate City Bar Association, the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and the Stonewall Bar Association Click here to register and for more information. Please join us for a presentation by leaders in the National Center for Civil & Human Rights, including CEO Doug Shipman, Executive Vice President Deborah J. Richardson, and Board Chair and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, about the new facility being built near Coca-Cola The National Center for Civil & Human Rights will be a 90,000 square foot facility in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. It will be a world class cultural institution dedicated to exploring stories of civil and human rights in dynamic indoor and outdoor spaces. The site is located at Pemberton Place, adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park, The New World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium.   The Coca-Cola Company generously donated the land.  More information can be found on their website:   http://www.cchrpartnership.org/Building/ConceptPurpose/index.html There will be a reception following the presentation. Limited to 190 attendees Preregistration is required

Friday 4/27: State Bar of Georgia Leadership Institute Friday, April 27, 2012 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Registration cutoff:  TODAY - Tuesday April 24th Stonewall Bar members are invited a Bar Leadership Institute at the Bar Center on Friday, April 27. This event is being offered at no cost to you. Topics include: State Bar Resources Planning a CLE Media Relations Building Legislative Relationships Running a Meeting Website Planning, Development and Implementation Planning a Successful Law Day Keeping Local and Voluntary Bars Vibrant The Local and Voluntary Bars Committee worked hard to plan an institute with topics and speakers that you would find both interesting and helpful. After the institute, we invite you to stay for a cocktail reception and then join us for a family-friendly outing to see the Atlanta Braves take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. For more information and to register, please view the meeting brochure or contact Michelle Garner, meetings director, at 404-527-8790 or michelleg@gabar.org.  To register online, visit the website.

Stonewall Members Jay Rollins & Lindsay Verity are running for the Board of Governors Vote by April 30th Long-time Stonewall member Jay Rollins is running for Atlanta Post 31 of the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors.  Jay has practiced law in metro-Atlanta for over 20 years.  In 2007, Jay was elected to the Executive Committee for the Labor & Employment Section.  He chaired the Section last year when it was named Section of the Year.  Jay and his lawyer partner, Debra Schwartz, have their own firm and practice exclusively in the areas of employment and civil rights law.  Jay is regularly included on the lists of Super Lawyer, Legal Elite, and Top Lawyers.  You can view a more complete bio of Jay on the State Bar website.  The ballots were mailed March 29, and must be returned no later than April 30.  Lindsay C. Verity is a proud member of the Stonewall Bar Association, the president of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, and the Director of the Grandparent/Relative Caregiver Project at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.  Lindsay has been an attorney with Legal Aid for almost nine years and has served on the GAWL and/or GAWL Foundation boards since 2004 - as one of its only out leaders.  She has previously served on the board of the Atlanta Bar Association and was the inaugural chairperson of its public interest committee.  She is a champion of diversity and would be a great addition to the Board of Governors to lend a voice to attorneys whose voices often go unheard.

President's Letter - April 2012

April 12, 2012

 Dear Members and Sponsors:

Stonewall has had a busy and wonderful start to the year.  Without your support, involvement and ideas, this success would not be possible.

Here is a brief recap of what we have accomplished in the past several months.  We have launched our new website, www.stonewallbar.org.  This year’s mentoring program is underway, with approximately sixty members participating.  We enjoyed a well-attended mixer in February, when we were joined by our community service partner, CHRIS Kids.  Finally, we have sponsored three relevant and robust educational programming events (and networking receptions at each event): a Marriage Equality CLE, co-sponsored by the LGBT Affinity Group at King & Spalding; a day-long CLE on Same-Sex Legal Issues, co-sponsored by the Family Law Section of the State Bar; and a CLE at John Marshall Law School featuring Vandy Beth Glenn and her lawyers, Greg Nivens and Cole Thayer, exploring their recent victory at the Eleventh Circuit and related legal issues. 

 Please mark your calendars for the following events scheduled for later this month:

 April 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m.,  Law Student Mixer, at Six Feet Under Westside: This mixer will spotlight our law student members, but all other members are invited.  This mixer is also a good opportunity for those participating in the mentoring program – mentors and mentees – to meet with each other.

April 19, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., GABWA Judicial Reception, at Nelson Mullins: Stonewall is co-sponsoring this reception – a great opportunity to mix and mingle with judges and other lawyers in a social setting.

April 30, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., National Center for Civil and Human Rights Presentation and Reception, at the State Bar: Stonewall, along with the Atlanta Bar, GABWA, the Gate City Bar, and GAWL, will co-sponsor a presentation about the Center, designed to be a 90,000 square feet facility in downtown Atlanta and a world class cultural institution dedicated to exploring stories of civil and human rights. A reception will follow the program by the CEO, EVP, and Board chair and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

 We will continue to update you periodically with our activities and other news.  If you ever have any questions, suggestions or concerns, please let us know.

 Best regards,

 Robert M. Lewis, Jr.

RMLewisAtl@aol.com

_______________

 President's Letter

From Incoming President Robert Lewis

 Dear Members, Sponsors and Other Friends:

January has been a busy start to a productive and exciting year for Stonewall!  Soon, we will unveil a new website, at www.stonewallbar.org. Your feedback will be much appreciated as we refine it further.  Second, we will begin this year’s mentoring program within the next couple of weeks.  The mentoring program will now include law students as mentees, as well as newly-minted or even experienced lawyers who would also like to be assigned a mentor.  We ask that you seriously consider participating in this important program, either as a mentor or mentee.  Finally, we will be distributing a membership survey via email so that we can ensure we are meeting your needs and fulfilling our organization’s fullest potential.  Every voice is important, and we look forward to hearing from each of you.   

If you would like to become more involved in Stonewall, please consider serving on one of Stonewall’s committees: Membership, Community Support and Engagement, Professional Events and Education, Sponsorship, and Awards Dinner. Our committees are where so much of our work is done and where ideas originate.  Please e-mail me at rmlewisatl@aol.com if you’re interested in one of these committees or have any questions.

 Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming events:

•  February 23, 2012, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m: Mixer at Amsterdam.  CHRIS Kids has been a longtime community service partner, and a CHRIS Kids representative will be at this event to discuss ways our two groups can work together.

•  March 13, 2012, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.: CLE at King & Spalding, discussing legislative and judicial developments concerning marriage, domestic partnerships and civil unions among LGBT individuals.  We will also discuss practical consequences arising from marital inequality and ways that practitioners and our clients can alleviate some of these inequitable consequences.  After the CLE ends at 6:00 p.m., we will gather for cocktails.

•  March 28, 2012, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: CLE on “Same Sex Legal Issues”  -- the first time the Family Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association has produced a CLE focused entirely on LGBT issues.  Stonewall will co-sponsor this CLE and will host a reception after the CLE, from 3:30 to 5:00, at the State Bar of Georgia.

Please join us if you can for the CLE programs, but even if you cannot, please join us for the receptions!  We will continue to update you with our activities during this year.  Besides quarterly letters such as this one, we will timely update our website with news of our activities and other topics that might be of interest to you.  We also will use social media, and urge you to “like” us on Facebook if you have not done so already.  Finally, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

Sincerely,

Robert Lewis

Stonewall Bar Association President 2011-2012

rmlewisatl@aol.com  

OTHER NEWS:

February 3, 2012
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Prudential Financial 2012 1L Summer Internship Program

The National LGBT Bar Association is pleased to partner with Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential) to provide a meaningful summer internship opportunity to a highly-motivated first-year law student. Through this partnership, the National LGBT Bar Association will select a student to join the 2012 summer law intern class at Prudential for a 10-week internship at Prudential’s offices with a stipend of approximately $10,000. Internship positions will be located in the New Jersey tri-state area. A position may be available in Dallas, Texas. 

Internship Responsibilities 
The summer intern will have the opportunity to work with attorneys who support the broad reach of the Prudential businesses. The summer intern will also participate in the summer intern training program, which includes programs presented by Prudential attorneys that highlight different areas of the business and the legal department. Each intern will be paired with an attorney who will serve as a mentor during the program and will provide guidance on projects. The summer intern may also have an opportunity to practice interviewing skills, prepare presentations and shadow attorneys on various projects. The summer internship will run between June 4^th, 2012 and August 10^th, 2012. The summer intern will be paid a stipend of approximately $10,000, which shall accrue and be paid on an hourly basis. 

Qualifications 
Each applicant must be a member of the National LGBT Bar Association and must be a law student enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school and have successfully completed the first year of law school and be scheduled for graduation in spring 2014 (full-time students) or spring 2015 (part-time students). Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent. The ideal applicant will have financial or business-related experience or interest. 

How to Apply
To apply, you must submit a cover letter, resume, a list of three references and a copy of your transcript to:

Prudential@LGBTbar.org

Please write “Prudential Internship” in the subject line of all correspondence. All materials must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, March 16^th, 2012. Finalist shall be selected and notified on or before March 31^st, 2012.